Monday, November 30, 2009

You Really Got Me, Emma Peel

OK, I loved Elizabeth Montgomery. I put up with many crappy Bewitched episodes to watch her cute face and occasionally peek at Mrs. Tate. I did like Barbara Feldon because she resembled a girl I had a crush on ~ and Agent 99 smiled at me through the screen, a lot more than the object of my affection did.
.
But in October 1965, all the other girls went out the window and there was only one, Emma Peel on The Avengers.
.
The New York Giants stunk in 1965, so all my attention that fall was available for this tall, lean, intelligent, sarcastic, athletic, gorgeous, articulate and funny goddess. Based on what I was being told in school and church, about things that sent you to hell, I'm surprised I wasn't picked up personally by the devil in a checker cab and escorted immediately to his hottest room.
.
My brain burned an image of Diana Rigg on it's main screen and stayed there all week until showtime on Friday night. Much to the chagrin of my mother, Dad used a power drill with a buff attachment to shine his dress shoes at the end of the week. If Emma was on TV, Dad would rest his chore and join me in adoration. I always slept well after The Avengers.
.
Ray Davies and the Kinks tells Emma Peel how he feels about her, click Kelly Garrett's video below:
.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Sway ~ Till the End of the Day

Like my fathers' mother, like my father, I love my stuff. I'm no Collyer brother, my place is neat, in it's own way. I still own my first two records, both by Dave Seville and the Chipmunks: "Witch Doctor," in 1958, and 1959, "Alvin's Harmonica." The football is from 1969 and the main reason it's still here: I religiously duct taped it like a car accident victim. When I had no duct tape I used electric tape, this pissed Dad off, since most wires in our apartment and my grandmother's apartment were frayed and Dad kept a roll in his pocket on the weekend.
.
After 40 years of flying over and bouncing along concrete and asphalt, my friend, "Herman," the football stands by my side.
.
I was talking with a friend about how much I love Ray Davies and the Kinks music. This reminded me of a frigid November Saturday afternoon in 1965 when I was eleven.
.
For some reason, I was staying over my Aunt Barbara's apartment in Elmhurst. I liked to wander around the neighborhood by myself, so I was window shopping along Roosevelt under the El and Jackson Avenue. I had a buck, which meant today I would buy one 45 single, and it better be a good one. When I was eleven, no decision carried as much weight and thought as buying a record. There was a small music store near the Jackson movie house. I tired out the clerk looking over the new releases and finally decided on "Till the End of the Day," by the Kinks, because I heard "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?" the flip side once and liked it fine. It was a unexpected gift buying a single when the B side was a good song too.
.
I ran a half mile to Barbara's apartment on Macnish Street, not breathing, said hi, and went straight to the Victrola. Saw something disturbing.
.
"Barbara, why is the record player unplugged?"
"It's broke.'
"Huh?"
OK now I was in hell. New music with no means of playing it. I dropped into a chair. Barbara saw the shape I was in and made a suggestion.
.
"Tommy, Joannie's not home, but why don't you go try Betty?"
.
Barbara, my Aunt Joan, and their friend Betty Mulhern, all lived in the building. Betty Mulhern was Emma Peel, Barbara Feldon and Serena, Samantha's evil cousin all rolled into one. If you didn't like brunettes, and saw Betty, you'd like brunettes. She danced every new dance, and her wild hair flew. She wore tight shorts on long legs, she wore clam diggers, she painted her pretty toes. Her eyes sparkled, her nose twitched. I couldn't make eye contact with her without my belly feeling funny.
.
I went down the hall and knocked on Betty's door. Music was playing.
.
"Hey Tommy, what's up?"
"Hmmm, I have a new record, Barbara's player is broken. Can I play it on yours?"
"Sure, come in."
I put it on. Betty was doing the dishes, and she started to sway her hips. All I could do was watch her move back and forth, back and forth.
.
I played both sides five times. Would have made it six, if Barbara didn't come in to retrieve me.


























Sunday, November 22, 2009

Gene's Tavern ~ York Ave ~1945


Quick note on today's nyg cardiac arrest victory. After traveling the world for nearly two years after his victory over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game, Uncle Mommy's Teddy bear knocked on my door right before the Falcon game. "You're gonna need me today."
.
He was right.
.
Blowing a 14 point lead forced the Giants into overtime. Luckily, we got the ball back on the coin flip. Eli moved it, and Teddy offered me his noggin for a headlock right before Tynes knocked it through the uprights for the win. 34-31.

*******************************************************

Found terrific photos taken in April 1945 of Gene's Tavern on the n/e corner of 84th Street & York Avenue. Checking on names with my Dad's friend, Walt, but the crew includes: Whitey Sherman, Allie Cobert, Richie Curley, Pete Salerno, Bob Pryor, Tommy O"Rourke, Pat Straw. On the 84th Street wall, right above the lady with white hair crossing the street, is a service memorial with the names of the Yorkville men and women who gave their lives in World War II. In April 1945 the list was not complete. Look at the stores on both sides of the avenue, the barber pole and the young guys on the bike and sitting on the bumper of the car on York. And the graffiti on the wall and in my Dad's sketch that reads, "Cameron."

Gene's Tavern had a two lane bowling alley in the cellar. My father's brother, Tom was the weekend pin boy for the place. Good tips. When Tom got too old for the job he passed it onto his younger brother, Bob, my Dad. There was a controversy over the changing of the guard on this pin boy position in 1940. They were 15 and 11 at the time, their father was in a TB hospital upstate, their mom worked two jobs, six days a week. Tom & Bob liked to settle things quickly. I'm saving that one for a longer story. It's a doozy.


























Sunday, November 15, 2009

Chairman of the Board Beats Cowboys 17-7


Whitey Ford pitched 8 2/3 shutout innings against the Dallas Cowboys today in a 17-7 Green Bay Packer blowout.
.
Luis Arroyo gave up a meaningless seven run homer to the hapless Cowboys with no time left on the clock. The failing Dallas hombres are flirting with flipping last place with the St. Louis Browns.
.
The Chairman of the Board walked one Cowboy, and struck out seven.
.
Tony Romo, Cowboy's shortstop made two fielding errors and several errant throws to first.
.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Father Benedict Dudley & The New York Giants Dark Age


Owning a four game losing streak in professional football is the equivalent of losing 40 straight games in professional baseball. It's 25 percent of your team's season. The New York Giants four game losing streak makes me blue.
.
The losing streak reminds me of the bad old days, before Pete Rozelle forcefully escorted Wellington & Tim Mara across the dance floor to their new general manager, George Young.
.
I'm old enough to vaguely remember the Giants glory years coming to a close in 1963. Then the dark age. From 1964 through 1980 the Giants were terrible except for one tease in 1970 when the George "Straight to Hell" Allen led L.A. Rams beat the Giants in the last game of the season denying them the N.F.L.'s Eastern Conference crown, and worse, giving the crown to the Anti-christs from Dallas.
.
Below is the first few paragraphs of a Sports Illustrated article from September 25, 1972, about the New York Giants bad times.
.
A cool Yorkville related thing in the article is a prominent character is Father Benedict J. Dudley. Father Dudley was the pastor of St. Stephen of Hungary Church on East 82nd Street, and he served me my first communion and I served him as his altar boy in mass. Father Dudley was also the Chaplain for the New York Giants & the New York Rangers and one of Wellington Mara's closest friends.
.
It's a good read, but I'd prefer the Giants put a little winning streak together starting next week.
.
.
It's Just One Man's Family
.
Wellington Mara is moving his beloved—if baffling—Giants to New Jersey, hoping others will love them, too
.
by Robert H. Boyle


Father Dudley said the 6:30 a.m. Mass and then looked in on the St. Francis of Assisi breadline on Manhattan's West 31st Street that has been running since 1929—the oldest breadline in the world, according to Father Dudley. Not scheduled to hear confessions that day, Father Dudley got into his car and drove to the Giant training camp in New Jersey. There he watched the workouts, checked on the progress of the rookies and talked with his friend, Wellington Mara, the president of the team.Father Benedict Dudley has been a fixture around the Giants since 1932 when a man saw him standing in the bleacher ticket line at the old Polo Grounds and said, "Take this, Father." It was a box-seat ticket right on the 50-yard line. There were three or four other men in the box, and Father Dudley kept up a running commentary on the performances of the players and the progress of the game. When one of the men allowed that Father Dudley certainly knew a lot about professional football, Father Dudley said, "I used to see the Frankford Yellow Jackets play when I lived in Philadelphia." It turned out that Father Dudley was sitting in the box of a very close friend of Tim Mara's, and from then on he never had to stand in the bleacher ticket line again.Another priest, Father Kevin O'Brien, who was a professor of physics at Fordham, has always hung around the Giants, too. He became known as the defensive priest; Father Dudley was the offensive priest. Once at a dinner in Milwaukee the late Fred Miller, president of the Miller Brewing Co. and himself a Catholic, introduced Father Dudley as the offensive priest. Father Dudley drew a chortle when he cautioned Miller on pronouncing the first syllable in offensive. "The word has two meanings," he said.In the course of years, Father Dudley has become not only honorary chaplain to the Giants but to what Wellington Mara calls "the Giant Family."
To finish Robert H. Boyle's article go to this link:

Sunday, November 8, 2009

I Wish That I Knew What I Know Now


when I was younger...
.
This afternoon, I pedaled to the East Village, saw a balloon and visited St. Mark's Church. There was a wish tree in the churchyard decorated with wish cards, and I wrote on mine, "I wish to see my daughter soon." Took some pictures, and caught a guy trying to steal my bike. A picture of the thug manhandling my ride is below. I took the bike back from him and said, "thank you."

Then, I dropped in on a live East Village Radio show, Atlantic Tunnel on First Avenue

between 1st & 2nd Street. It was cool, they do the show in a store front ~ behind the glass they spin the tunes. They love what they're doing and that is infectious. Just cheers me up.
.
Atlantic Tunnel is hosted by Brits Ed Rogers and Gaz Thomas, the popular radio show can be heard on Sundays from noon - 2 pm @ Sunday. Today's show was dedicated to Ian McLagan a member of the Small Faces and Faces. Ian didn't write "Ooh La La," but I love it.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Isis Digs Autumn in New York


My friend, Isis, the patron of magic and nature applauds autumn in New York. She loves the giant Checker taxi cabs on 5th & 14th, and tried to eat the colorful leaves on the drive in Central Park.
.
Isis is a big fan of Daniel Webster and the bird's nest over Dan's right shoulder. Countless times, Isis performed the rites of all seasons at the Naumberg band shell on the Central Park Mall. Prior to 1923, Isis performed at the original caste iron band shell in the 1800s.
.
Isis attended the Gary Puckett and the Union Gap concert at the bandshell in 1968, and sung along to "Woman, Woman," "Young Girl, "and "Lady Willpower."
.
Lady Willpower, it's now or never. Give your love to me
.
She's brunched with the Bethesda Fountain angel and her four cherubs, Temperance, Purity, Health, and Peace.
.
Isis digs live music, favors the Losers Lounge, and is looking forward to being at Maxwell's in Hoboken on Sunday, February 28th for a terrific celebration of Neighborhood Evolution exploring the connections between Hoboken & New York City being planned by Claudia Chopek, Debby Schwartz and me. They'll be fabulous artists, musicians & storytellers. A good time for all.
.
Isis further approves New York Yankees World Championship.

























































































Friday, November 6, 2009

It's High Noon for Tom Jones


Last night, I'm watching High Noon, with Gary Cooper & Grace Kelly. Whenever the movie's theme song, Do Not Forsake Me, came on, I saw Tom Jones bouncing around in a tuxedo.
.


After a quick visit to YouTube, I realized why.
.
The songwriter who wrote Help Yourself, just sped up Do Not Forsake Me, and put new words on it. Listen to both songs, and you'll it hear too. You'll also hear the bouncy Mexican horns on Help Yourself, that seem to be on every Tom Jones' Parrot label 45 single.
.






.
Tom Jones' favorite celebrity photograph

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Yankees Win Series ~ My Memories Slide Home


I'm ten years old, playing softball down John Jay Park, and I'm coming up to the plate for the Yorkville Stars. Suddenly, Dad is leaning on the fence behind me and gets my attention before I step into the batter's box.
.
"Hey, Tommy, where are you?"
"Bottom of the ninth."
"How you doing?"
"We need a big inning."
"What's the score?"
"14-2."
.
.
Below: my grandmother, 14, selling newspapers outside the Polo Grounds in 1920. She'd sell enough papers to buy a ticket then go inside and root for the Yankees. Nan hated John McGraw and also went to the Giant games to give McGraw the business calling him "Mugsy" and "Little Napoleon." Nan was escorted out of the park a few times with a smile on her face.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Yorkville Taverns

In 1961 & 1962 Dad took a few pictures of four or five taverns. I recently found a few.
.
I also posted several Yorkville pictures on Facebook today at the link below:
.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2908325&id=541978729#/album.php?aid=119890&id=541978729

.



Jack Loftus, Walt Trusits, Allie & Sylvia Cobert at my wedding in 1980.
















Joan in front of Little Hofbrau 1952















Bobby, Tommy & Rory Pryor, Christmas Day, 1961 in front of the Old Timers Tavern